The barren landscape around them wavered with pressure from the heat. No wonder why Fortune chose to attack here. Due to his fear of the cold, he thrived in warmth. He and his partner had climbed on top of the smoking train. They slowly walked closer, seeming amused by the attempts of their enemies to even dare to stand their ground. It was hard to believe that being was the same young kid that once was terrified of Kuza's haunting gaze.

A red jacket with gold and black decorations hung over his small frame. Despite the cranberry colored corset and skirt he wore, he couldn't change the fact that his eyes and hair were still cold. He could wear all the warm colors he wanted, his lavender locks would always be a sign of who he once was. The confidence he carried though, it didn't seem like he was too bothered by that fact.

"Sorrow's going to grab one of us." Ryan stated as he saw the lengthy creature conjuring up some dark particles.

It wasn't a second later that Fortune sent a slashing purple wave their way. Though it rolled with the fluidity of an ocean, it hit them like a typhoon. They went tumbling back, end over end. Each struggled to grab a hold of the end of the train to prevent themselves from falling off. Once they were settled, there was a moment of silence.

Vinny realized he had a clear head. He was fine, the witch had left him alone. Looking over to the Wiccan, he saw them to be fine as well. Their gaze may have been unsettling, the way they locked onto a target like a wolf, but they seemed to be unaffected. Kuza, he looked fine too. He started to pull himself up to his knees, glaring towards the couple across from them.

The red-eyed hot head froze for a moment. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. Suddenly he was knocked back over. This time, remaining on his knees, but his actual spine bending back with a powerful force. His head tilted back even further and a scream erupted from his pierced lips. When he brought his hands to the sides of his head, he began to claw at his own skull like a mental patient.

"Sorrow's got him. Let's go." Ryan sneered.

Vinny felt a pain in his chest, a little prick on his heart. "But-"

"He knew he was risking this and he was okay with it. This was apart of the plan after all. Now, let's go." He repeated.

The Wiccan retrieved their double edged blade from where it was strapped behind their back. They twirled the relatively small object around once and caused it to grow into a large spear. The weapon's chrome finish glinted in the beating sun. It seemed so much more glorious here versus the December weather they left behind on Earth.

Through the billows of smoke, they could see Fortune's crooked smile. He may not be a crying mess anymore, but he's definitely not stable. Rather, he traded depression and paranoia for a thirst for blood and vengeance. So much so that it seemed he may have lost touch with reality. Truth be told, if it weren't for Kuza breaking his mind so many years ago, Ryan might've been able to save him the way he saved Vinny.

The Wiccan looked up to the vultures circling the sky. It may not be the best option, but it's the only animal for miles. It's been so long since Vinny's used his Arcadia, they had to wonder how sharp he'd be with it back. Needless to say, they did expect him to be rusty, but it was better than nothing. They drew back their spear, throwing it remarkably high towards the sun.

At first, it went up without hitting anything. It wasn't until it came back down that it stroke one of the vultures through the wing. The spear landed perfectly beside them with the bird now on one end. Going through the wing instead of the body made it so the animal was still alive. It might not have been humane, but Vinny couldn't copy an animal's attributes if it was dead.

He felt terrible about it. Unfortunately, they had to do what they had to do to survive. Vinny leaned down beside the pained creature and absorbed as much muscle memory from it as he could bare. Being next to a dying carcass like that didn't set will with him, believe it or not. The Wiccan then removed their spear and used it to behead the animal.

"How long can you hold it?" Ryan asked.

"Not long." He responded, stretching out his hands, "It's been too long."

"Then you better get going." Ricky replied.

Vinny nodded and rose to his feet. He located his trusty sickles and attempted an attack at Fortune. With the abilities of a vulture, he was able to move quicker and swifter. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. It took barely any effort for Fortune to send him flying back towards the Wiccan. They thought quick on their feet, as always. Instead of just getting hit by Vinny, they stuck their spear through the center of one of his sickles and used it as a pivot to redirect him.

Fortune was caught off guard a little. After sending him flying, he wasn't really expecting Vinny to come back like a boomerang. It still wasn't enough. He missed hitting Fortune by just an inch. This time, he wasn't heading in a direction that the Wiccan could help. He rolled off the side of the train car and fell directly onto the hitch that connected one car to the next. His ribs were definitely shattered after that. If he didn't break his back as well, he would be lucky. Luck wasn't exactly Fortune's game, though.

"Ryan." Ricky quickly snapped, trying to force him to change his line of sight.

With a scoff, he gave in and looked back to check on Kuza. Sorrow had found his way over to him and stood in front of him with a triumphant smirk. His sanity had slipped a lot more too. Lolli and Ezra were fine when they ran into them, but these two, they were fucking nuts. For Sorrow, someone with as much regret as Kuza was the ideal patient. There was so much to work with. He wasn't just fucking up Kuza's mind, though. In the process, he was draining his life force. His red eyes were starting to turn to glass.

"I hate to say it, but we can't save him until we deal with Fortune. If we try to hit Sorrow, Fortune will protect him." Ryan explained.

"I know you're right," Ricky muttered, "But I fucking hate that you're right. There has to be a way around his Arcadia."

"You're the smart one." He replied.

"That's not what I-" He sighed, "Never mind... If his Arcadia makes his enemy do the opposite of what they want to, why don't we just reverse what we're doing? Instead of trying to hit him..."

"We should try not to hit him. I'm not sure if that'll work, but it's the best option we've got."

What else was there to try? They wanted to overwhelm him by giving him two people to fight at once, but Vinny's out of the equation. Once again, it was up to Ricky and Ryan to fight for everyone, even if they weren't in the best condition to do so. What Kuza had told Chris before about Fortune's Arcadia, if you try to swing right, he'll make you swing left, it was true for back then. But, Arcadias can evolve and grow just like we do.

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Inside the train, the sounds of screaming, scratching, and crashing above was unsettling. Thankfully, in such a small space, Ammonia could use her abilities to put everyone to sleep. She previously offered scarves to Ghost, the Eclipse, and Chris to cover their mouths, to keep them from falling victim to her toxins. While the passengers were in a calm state of rest, Chris healed whomever looked the most injured.

In the car furthest to the front, the one that was the most filled with smoke, he found only a few passengers. He was thankful for that, considering he'd have to move them away from these fumes. When it came down to the last man, Chris found particular interest in this one. Not only did he have the mark of the Silent Crow on his jacket, but he had a few other pins. Deysa wasn't decorated like that, but the General was.

Perhaps... This was another one of the other Generals? Was that possible? They weren't supposed to be out in the open like this. Then again, that may be why he sat in the very front of the train where barely anyone was. Chris gently picked up the raven haired man and carried him to a safer cabin.

"No way." Casper spoke in shock as he saw Chris walking with the unconscious being.

"Do you know him?" Ghost gently asked.

Ammonia noted the pins on his clothing, coming to the same conclusion as Chris. "He's with the order. It's unfortunate he's in such bad shape. We could've really used his help."

"He's not a nobody, you know. He's one of the six generals." Casper replied.

"I had a feeling, when I saw the badges on his jacket." Chris responded, "And I'm afraid he's in much worse shape than the others. I can heal him, but he's taken more than physical damage. He's got signs of the start of a dark matter infection."

"That means Ezra wasn't just here for us. Perhaps, when this is all resolved, we should bring him to Heart. Helping a general could bring us a lot of favor with the order and that's something that's very valuable for our kind." Ammonia stated.

Chris narrowed his eyes, "Never mind it being the right thing to do or anything."

"Uh- Oh, yes. That too." She said.

"Cas, do you know anything about him? Anything you can tell us?" Ghost questioned.

He made an audible noise of frustration. "I don't know... Exactly which one he is. See, there's two generals that are brothers. They look a lot alike. I mean, I know it's definitely one of those two, but I just don't know... Which one."

"Then just tell us about both of them." She spoke as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Oh, yeah... I guess I could do that. That's why you're the older one." He giggled. "I don't know their first names, just their first initials because they're always referred to as General T. Marécage and General C. Marécage. The ladder being the older brother. The older can control birds and has this special ability to reverse certain types of magic. The younger can control bats and has all the abilities of one. Akira always talked about how they 'weren't much of a concern'." He said with air quotes. "So, why'd Ezra go after him?"

"One less thing to worry about, I suppose." Ammonia replied.

Chris healed him the best he could while they talked. He knew letting a general die wasn't a good idea. They protect people from dying, and if no one dies, the prisons would be out of work. He could imagine they didn't take kindly to that fact. They'd probably lock him up and throw away the key if they ever got their hands on him.

As he stood back up from healing the decorated soldier, he nearly fell over. Chris grabbed his head, feeling a rigidness in his body. He grit his teeth as his heart suddenly pulsed. A wave went out from his body and caused his skin to crawl. This wasn't just from Kuza's life force slipping. Sorrow was reaching through Kuza's soul to get to his. As a second pulse resonated through his body, his cloak dropped against his will.

The Eclipse, Ghost, and Ammonia stood there in utter shock. Ghost was the only one that knew about Chris' origin, but even knowing didn't prevent the shock of actually seeing him in his true form. His frostbitten skin and blackened hands were paralyzing to look at. For him, it was beyond embarrassing. He hadn't let anyone other than Kuza see him this way. Now, it was Kuza's fault anyone else was exposed to this side of him, and you bet your ass he was going to make him pay for being such a reckless fool.

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Fortune:

Sorrow: